Vehicles incorporate breath alcohol ignition interlock devices, sometimes abbreviated as BAIIDs, to prevent a driver with a known history of driving while intoxicated with alcohol from operating the vehicle while intoxicated. Such devices are designed to prevent a driver from starting a motor vehicle when the driver's breath alcohol concentration (BAC) is at or above a set alcohol concentration. Each state in the U.S. has adopted a law providing for use of such BAIID devices as a sanction for drivers convicted of driving while intoxicated, or as a condition of restoring some driving privileges after such offenses.
A typical BAIID device meets guidelines established by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in published model specifications for BAIIDs, which specify various features and safeguards that should be present in such a device to make it an effective and reliable deterrent to intoxicated driving. For example, the model specifies a volume of air in a breath that the driver provides to ensure that an adequate volume of air to ensure an accurate result is provided, and specifies how such a device should be installed into a vehicle to prevent the vehicle from operating pending a determination that the driver is not intoxicated. Most state programs and manufacturer BAIID products adhere to the NHTSA model guidelines, providing a uniform market for various brands of BAIID products.
In operation, a driver must use a BAIID device by blowing into an alcohol-sensing element such as a fuel cell that measures the amount of alcohol in the driver's breath, thereby providing a reliable estimate of the blood alcohol concentration in the driver's blood. The BAIID reads a signal from the fuel cell or other alcohol-sensing element, and determines whether the driver's blood alcohol content exceeds a threshold amount. If the driver's blood alcohol content does not exceed the threshold, the driver is determined not to be intoxicated and the BAIID allows the vehicle to start and run by electrically enabling a system within the vehicle, such as the starter, fuel pump, ignition, or the like. If the driver is intoxicated, the vehicle is not allowed to start, and the BAIID device records a violation.
The BAIID system is installed in the driver's vehicle as a consequence of a previous conviction for driving while intoxicated, as a condition of having some driving privileges restored. Because the security and integrity of the BAIID is important to ensuring compliance from the convicted intoxicated driver and to ensuring safety of others on the road, the system design and installation are desirably configured to make circumventing the BAIID to operate the vehicle while intoxicated both readily detectable and somewhat difficult. This is achieved in most systems by hard-wiring the BAIID system into the car's electrical system, including various connections to disable the vehicle's starter, fuel pump, ignition, or other elements critical to the vehicle's operation, and by connecting the BAIID such that it can monitor the car's operation to ensure that unauthorized operation is not taking place.
Installation therefore typically involves wiring multiple connections from the BAIID device in the passenger compartment of a car to various electrical systems within the car, such as a starter or fuel pump in the engine compartment, and speed sensor or mileage sensor connections in the car's dashboard. This usually requires removing at least part of the dashboard, routing wires through the firewall into the engine compartment, and connecting wires to various electrical system components in the vehicle's dashboard systems. Further, installation varies significantly by type of vehicle, making the installation process more difficult and time-consuming. This results in significant cost to perform such an installation, and typically results in permanent damage to the vehicle such as where holes are cut in the vehicle to run wires, wires are cut and spliced, and components of the BAIID system are mounted to the vehicle.
Because installation of BAIID devices is complex, expensive, time-consuming, and often results in permanent vehicle damage, it is desirable to provide an effective BAIID system with simpler and less intrusive installation.